Alternating day hip issues?

The day after I did the stoneridge hike I was in sewing class. My hip hurt the entire time. I limped around the classroom and kitchen. I tried to walk normally but it hurt too much.

I'm wondering if my hip acts up the day after I have given it a challenge like the hike. Yesterday I did a two-mile hike, longer than stoneridge but flatter. The total amount of rise was about 40 feet, stretched over the two miles.

That hike was different in other ways, too. It was next to the coast, in Cambria. I hiked in the fog. It was wide and easy to negotiate the whole way.

The path alternates between boardwalk and decomposed granite

Sea birds on a rock in the ocean

I met several people on the trail, with and without dogs. With and without cell phones.

By the time I turned around, at the end, I was feeling a little done in. I realized that it has been a very long time since walking was completely comfortable, effortless, for me. I felt stiff and my hip pain came and went. It was a strain to walk. So although I made an effort to stride on back I can't say I loved it. I think that when I take on more challenging trails I can be distracted from the discomfort by the rocks and height, by just taking the next step. So in a way the flat hikes are harder.

But back to the question. After a hike do I suffer extended hip pain? It seems yes. Today again I am hurting and it won't go away. I went to an aqua aerobics class, hoping that it would loosen it up, but no. Then I went to Costco to pick up a prescription and partway through thought that perhaps I should have at least taken my cane.

Ghostly rocks

There are many fat squirrels out here.

My fitbit says I have taken 1619 steps so far today. My goal is to take 5,000 per day, but if I do not hike I don't usually make that goal. With my hip hurting I am not likely to hike today. I will stay home and clean up, best as I can, in short increments of time. Clean, sit, clean more, sit.